'Swish'
A huge reptilian creature peaked out of the murky waters and gazed at the insects hovering 5-6 metres above the water surface.
After making eye contact with the scaly eyes of the humongous predator that literally stood at the pinnacle of the marine food chain, some of the insects were no longer able to maintain their balance as their transformations dissolved. Dozens of human figures rained down from the skies amid fearful cries and plunged into the water body that was dyed a deep shade of crimson.
Their insect comrades who saw their plight tried to help them, but fear had made their bodies sluggish not to mention their tiny insect bodies that couldn't lift the body weight of their human forms.
"Puah," One of the figures who fell into the murky waters emerged out as he maintained his head above the water surface while his legs paddled to keep his body afloat. He was planning to transform again when he gazed at a huge log of wood gracefully swim towards his direction.
"Aah, nooo! Save me!" The man lost his composure that immediately impacted his ability to transform as he flailed his limbs to swim forward.
"Bleh," The man spat out the blood-red water that had entered his mouth as he chaotically flailed his limbs in an effort to swim faster. Gazing behind him, the man then noticed that the log of wood that had been trailing behind him had disappeared at some point in time.
Some of the dragonflies that were still able to maintain their flight partially dissolved their transformations to leave behind a pair of dragonfly wings that flapped at their backs. These men then wobbled their way towards their comrades who fell into the water.
Fear had struck them hard after gazing at the humongous body of the Gharial, impacting their abilities to a severe degree. Even the Wasp that Arvind had transformed into showed signs of dissolving. Of all the creatures they had encountered till now, the biggest of the lot were the pigeons they recently encountered which barely reached a foot in height.
But now, gazing at the creature that could swallow a dozen pigeons for a snack, most of them were failing to keep their emotions in check.
Of the four requirements they had to meet for their transformation to occur and be maintained, one of them was the need to maintain the mindset of the creature they were transforming into.
For example, if they turned into a wasp, then maintaining a mindset of a Wasp will ensure that their transformation doesn't dissolve. This is where the Karma comprehension came into effect; the higher their comprehension of a particular Karma, the greater the chances they could maintain that transformation without trouble.
Since fear took over their minds and overshadowed their pre-ordained mindset, their transformations dissolved as a result.
The man swimming through the blood-red waters gazed at one of his friends, a middle-aged man with a bulbous nose who was rushing in his direction in order to lift him up when he felt his paddling feet hit something sharp and rugged below him.
"What? Whaaaat?" The man failed to keep his emotions in check as a huge landmass floated from below, lifting him up along with it.
The middle-aged man with a bulbous nose who happened to be rushing in his direction shouted a cry of alarm upon gazing at the reptilian creature that suddenly appeared before him.
Having failed to control his mindset due to his shock, his partial transformation instantly dissolved into purple smoke that sent him reeling down like a tiny meteor into the water.
His legs gave out under him as he gazed at the vast expanse of rugged black scales that glistened with might, power, and a regal aura. He also saw his friend who had rushed to help him fall into the water near him and struggled to swim up.
The man was so scared that he felt his mind go insane. He didn't know what had happened; he didn't know why the huge monstrosity hadn't eaten him till now; he didn't know anything.
The wasp at the lead was the only one among the group who hadn't panicked till now at it gazed at the numerous purple snakes that drifted out of the water body and traversed to a certain spot within a shelf that peaked out of the water.
The wasp immediately accompanied the flying purple snakes and travelled through many holes and gaps in the shelves and eventually reached a certain secluded spot among a pile of rubbish.
A tall shelf that was surrounded by numerous food cans peaked out of the water and towered 5-6 feet above the water surface. Within a certain section of the shelf, the wasp spotted the figure of a familiar pigeon and the human who lay sprawled on the ground beside it.
All of the purple snakes were currently gushing into his body and maintained his 'Purple Transformation'. So, until all the purple snakes finished entering his body, the unconscious human figure wouldn't wake up no matter what.
The wasp immediately landed beside the human figure and dissolved its transformation. Reverting back to his human form, Vikram slumped the body of the unconscious Prakash over his shoulder and materialised his mini Shaggy.
The puppet pigeon came back to life as the mini Shaggy entered its head while Vikram had climbed over its back and secured Prakash beside him.
The puppet pigeon flapped its wings and flew out of the shelf, tripping a couple of cans in its path. As the puppet pigeon flew through the air, the numerous purple snakes silently followed in their direction at a faster speed and entered Prakash's body.
The puppet pigeon flew towards the flustered horde of insects that were darting to and fro in the air as they tried to help their comrades who fell into the water but failed to help due to their insufficient strength.
The puppet pigeon landed atop the body of the Gharial and screeched once to focus the attention of all the flying insects and the swimming humans towards it.
"This is my brother's mount. Haven't you noticed that it hasn't attacked us till now?" Upon his declaration, the flying insects hesitated for a second before flying towards the Gharial and dissolving their transformations after having landed on its back. Only now did they notice a tiny cord of purple smoke that extended out of the head of the Gharial and connect to the chest region of Prakash.
The humans swimming in the reddish water also managed to climb atop the massive creature after getting help from their comrades. Even after a hundred people stood on its back, there was still enough room to spare for more.
In the meantime, all of the purple snakes had finished entering the body of Prakash who woke up after a minute and gazed with confusion at the throng of people who had surrounded him.
Purple smoke gushed out of the pores on his skin and transformed into his 'Record' as Prakash decided to first inspect it before dealing with the other matters.
"Fish 3 and Fish 12 are back while new rows of fishes are added now." Prakash gazed at the rows of Fish Karma that seemed to be endless. The last row pertaining to the Fish Karma was 'Fish 43', meaning he had gained new Karma for about 28 new species of fish from the Gharial's killing spree.
"Hmm, why did it stop now?" Prakash wondered as he noticed that there were still some fishes that were swimming in the blood-red waters towards their direction.
As he began to think, a sense of bloated feeling welled up from deep within him. Prakash remembered having experienced the same feeling before. It was when he had woken up on the small mound in the middle of nowhere today morning, surrounded by the murky waters on all sides.
"Does this mean I have absorbed enough Karma to fill up my body and could no longer absorb anymore?" His thoughts were interrupted when a hand patted his shoulders. The hand felt quite weak and was filled with a feeling of uncertainity as it tapped on his shoulder.
Glancing at his side, Prakash noticed the figure of Vikram who stood beside him and seemed to be hesitating to speak.
"…Sorry," Before he could apologise, Prakash gazed with shock at Vikram who had taken the initiative to apologise first, "I should have tried to brainstorm a way with you and not have denied your plan so vehemently," Vikram bent his head in apology.
"No, no, I should be the one to blame for putting you in the spot," Prakash hurriedly lifted Vikram from his bowed position and hugged the lad.
"Sorry, it's just that I'm feeling helpless after being separated from Anita, sorry," Prakash whispered into Vikram's ears as his body trembled in agony.
"It's fine, brother. As long as you don't plan on going ahead with your initial idea," Vikram wiped the tears that streamed out of his eyes and left the embrace of Prakash.
The duo seemed to have been affected to greater extents than they had initially thought. Being separated from their family members when the world had become so much crueler to them that they could lose their lives at any point; just the worry about the safety of their loved ones began to eat away at their sanity.
Now that he thought about it, they were being less rational the more time passed, it was almost like their emotional quotients were fluctuating due to reasons unknown.
"It seems that our bodies are still changing," Vikram said with a forlorn sigh. Prakash too felt the same to be the case.
Just when it seemed like they were beginning to adapt to their initial change of having their bodies shrunk and gaining a double-edged transformation power, new changes whose effects were unknown had once again begun to form. This time, it seemed to be affecting their minds.
"I just figured out a way that is many times safer than the one I previously suggested," Prakash said as he motioned for Vikram to lend his ears.
Those changes to his emotional quotient, Prakash put it to the back of his head and decided to be more conscious of his thoughts and actions in the future. He had a lot more to focus on his plate right now, and as long as he was being careful, this emotional change shouldn't affect him too much… probably.
As he murmured his new plan to Vikram, the youth's eyes lit up in surprise and even seemed to get excited the more he heard about it.
"Why couldn't you have said this sooner brother, I'll immediately make the necessary arrangements," Vikram bear-hugged Prakash in joy and motioned for his fellow warriors to follow him.
After they saw Vikram transform into a wasp and fly towards their base, the surrounding warriors breathed out a sigh of relief and transformed into a swarm of insects that followed after their leader. They were happy to get away from the Gharial as soon as possible even if it was supposed to be their ally.
The formless pressure it exerted on their minds was too powerful and impacted their mental functions subconsciously.
As he saw the horde of insects fly away, leaving behind his lone self and the puppet pigeon that stood atop the back of the Gharial, Prakash motioned for the Gharial to move towards the edges of the water body.
The tens of fishes that had converged upon it in the meantime were swatted away by a flick of its tail as the Gharial managed to reach a series of steps. Wriggling its body, the Gharial barely managed to climb atop 3 steps with great difficulty before deciding to rest there.
Prakash sat cross-legged on its rugged back as he recalled Ugly Shaggy. The eyes of the Gharial turned vacant the moment Ugly Shaggy came out and hovered beside Prakash.
Prakash took a deep breath to calm his mind and prepared his mindset for his next task as he gazed at his 'Record'.
Upon his mental input, Ugly Shaggy turned transparent and entered his body and began to devour a stream of Karma that circulated within. The Karma of 'Fish 3' was the first to decrease while the Karma of Dog began to increase in response.
Seeing that the process might take a long time to finish, Prakash materialised mini Victoris to hover beside him in order to alert him of any danger and took a nap. He decided to increase his comprehension of Pigeon Karma in the meantime.
The moment he closed his eyes, the Karma circulating within his body almost came to a standstill while a certain Karma in his body rushed towards his head and began to silently circulate there.